COVID-19 is disrupting business operations and ESG programs across the world. To support your efforts in this time of disruption, we’re rounding up relevant Center resources, news, company best practices, and research and gathering it in one place at Resource(ful).

Blog: Trusting business to lead COVID-19 response

How much do people trust business to bring us through the COVID-19 pandemic? It depends on your context. READ MORE

---

THIS WEEK: Online Events

Free Webinar | Transparency, Standards, and Corporate Reporting

Weds 5/20 at 3PM ET

Join this webinar to learn from three leading practitioners about how they are working to harmonize GRI, SASB, and TCFD standards and improve the quality and comparability of their reports. This webinar will offer practical insights about how you can provide useful information to managers, investors, employees and other stakeholders without breaking your back or your bank.

Member Meetups | Addressing Communication Challenges

Thurs 5/21, 12pm ET; Wed 5/27 3pm ET

COVID-19 has created new considerations for how to communicate out about your corporate citizenship initiatives, as well as how to communicate with employees. Members can use this safe space to troubleshoot, share learnings, and hear perspectives from our dynamic member community.

Online Course | Brand and Reputation: Build Trust with Stakeholders

Effective corporate citizenship strategy and programs support your company’s brand and reputation—vital assets that increase market value, attract and retain employees, bolster consumer loyalty, and mitigate risk. By aligning CSR efforts with business objectives and employing strategic communications, corporate citizenship professionals can create more business and social value and build the networks, resilience, and results that lead to a better brand.

---

Members in Action

Check out our ongoing list of how companies are responding to COVID-19.

Applied Materials is delivering face masks and blood analysis systems to frontline medical personnel in the U.S., Europe, and China, and, at its manufacturing sites in Austin, Texas, Kalispell, Montana, and Singapore, enterprising engineers are making personal protective equipment and using 3D printers to create face shields and touchless door handles for use in their local communities. In addition, by increasing matching funds available to Applied Materials employees, the company is helping its employees contribute to COVID-19 relief efforts in areas where they see the biggest need.

The EQT Foundation awarded $360,000 in grant funding to the local community foundations and food banks throughout the company’s operational footprint of southwestern Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, and eastern Ohio.  Six community foundation’s each received $50,000 donations that will go to support nonprofits most in need as a result of the pandemic, and between $5,000 - $10,000 was awarded to seven food banks helping to ensure mobile food distribution events continue to take place. 

The S&P Global Foundation has so far allocated $4 million in new funding for a mix of national and global COVID-19 relief efforts, which will support first responders, help the hungry, provide medical supplies, support small business, and meet other critical needs. This includes support for the Business Roundtable’s partnership with Project HOPE, to source and distribute masks and other protective equipment for donation to the U.S. medical community.

How is your company responding to COVID-19? Let us know by contacting us at ccc@bc.edu

---

Relevant Tools & Research

In economic recession, companies maintain corporate citizenship investments

Evidence suggests that firms maintain their overall corporate citizenship investments during financial crises, however the mix of investments may shift. READ MORE

Issue Brief: Sustainable Supply Chains

While the risks and opportunities present in a company’s supply chain can range widely, there is a great benefit to dedicating time, resources, and attention to thoroughly evaluating the intricacies of a supply chain to determine how it can enhance a company’s corporate citizenship. READ MORE

---

News You Can Use

Lower-income workers hit harder by coronavirus job losses, Fed survey finds

The coronavirus crisis has caused financial struggles for many American households. Millions of people have lost work or had their hours or pay reduced, with low-wage workers taking the biggest hit, according to a report released by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The survey found job cuts were most severe for lower-income workers, with 39% of people with a household income of less than $40,000 reporting a job loss in March. This rate dramatically declines as household income level goes up. Reuters 

Tech companies are letting employees work from home through 2020

As states across the U.S. begin to reopen, a growing number of big tech companies are telling employees they can continue to work from home until the fall or even through the end of the year. Microsoft is allowing employees to work remotely until October. Other tech companies such as Facebook, Amazon, and Google are offering similar timelines. CNN